Report: Happy, Healthy Living is More Likely in City Centers

According to a new study comparing 400,000 residents of cities, including London, Cardiff, and Glasgow by Oxford University and the University of Hong Kong, high density city centers topped suburban living due to increased socializing and more physical activity which make for healthier, happier people.

While the British government is planning to build 17 new towns and villages across the countryside by 2020, The Guardian reports Dr. Chinmoy Sarkar, co-author of the new study, says policy makers may want to reconsider building on fields. Sarkar claims walking makes the biggest difference for human wellbeing, a practice thriving in compact communities.

Downtown residents – packed together in tight row houses or apartment blocks – are more active and socially engaged than people who live in the sprawl of suburbia, according to a report that aims to challenge popular beliefs about city life.

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